Tariro

It’s been a little over six months since I was here. Imagine that! I’ve missed this. Writing, reflecting, talking into my microphone, sharing pieces of my story in real time. I have missed it so much. Stories I Tell has been quiet. I know it looks like I disappeared and I honestly don’t know how to make it not look like that. But the truth is: Life got very busy and very “loud”. Looking back, I think the silence had a lot to do with the intense levels of stress I experienced in Q3 and Q4, partly work-related and partly life-related. I’m talking about the kind of stress that no amount of sadza nenyama can fix. But, hey, even in the quiet, I’ve been here. Showing up where life “called me” and more than anything, working as hard as I possibly could to make sure there was a roof over our heads and food on the table. Truthfully speaking though, there’s only so much working hard one can do. God did most of the heavy lifting (as He always does 😊). So before anything else, I want to start with gratitude. Gratitude for His provision. I’m so grateful for the doors that opened at exactly the right time. I’m grateful for new projects, unexpected opportunities, and people…no…angels…who showed up just when I needed help navigating some very challenging seasons. Listen…2025 was that year 😅 A year of being stretched in every direction imaginable while still trying to hold on to some sense of calm and keep a brave face in the process. It’s a year that challenged me deeply around business, career and life. Mind you, this is not the stretching that was “admirable” or filled with feel good, Instagram-worthy captions and reels. Translate that to: At some point there were real tears that were shed. But regardless…not all of those challenges were bad. Actually, being stretched isn’t always a negative thing. There’s been so much growth and learning in some of it. I sometimes look back at certain moments and think, Wow… I can’t believe I handled that without losing it! These are situations that, a few years ago, would have completely driven me coo coo. I navigated them without losing my cool or falling apart. Despite the wild curveballs, I still choose gratitude. Because I’m still here breathing and able to write, speak, and share stories with y’all. And that alone is something I never want to take for granted. So… where have I been? Let’s start with the major update… Some time last year, one of my long-time remote work clients, who I’ve worked with on and off for over seven years now, invited me for an adventure. A new venture that would entail a very different mode of working to what we were both used to. Hybrid…with mostly in-person in the early days. But the idea of working in person again made me incredibly anxious. I hadn’t worked in a physical office in years. Remote work had become my way of living. The thought of navigating shared spaces, routines, and people again stirred up a lot of discomfort within me. I’m not lying when I tell you this: I had a few panic attacks just thinking of it and questioned whether I could even do it. And yet the opportunity sat right at the intersection of something I had been quietly praying for and really presented logistical convenience as far as how my life is set up right now. I was longing, hoping and praying for a Learning and Development role since the beginning of 2025. If you have been following my work in the last year, this is the kind of work I was even trying to create for myself. The kind of work my previous roles had already sparked a deep love for not just L&D, but also DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and the Future World of Work. So after thinking, considering, contemplating, adding and subtracting…I said YES to leading operations at Lubuto Learning & Development particularly focusing on programme delivery and building efficient systems. And that yes marked the beginning of a season that challenged me professionally in all kinds of ways (mostly uncomfortable). The role has demanded that I apply myself productively which means tapping into very essential skills like operational efficiency, people and project management, change management, learning experience design, smarter use of technology, and navigating corporate politics. I have been learning (or should I say re-learning😅) a lot about Zim corporate business, people, learning itself, critical thinking and problem-solving in this environment. But more than anything, I have been learning something important about myself and the shift my remote work journey is experiencing. Remote work has given me freedom, focus, and autonomy for over a decade now. It has allowed me to survive seasons that required deep flexibility. One such season that comes to mind is when I was dealing with my father’s battle with cancer a few years ago. My son was still an infant and not so long after my dad’s passing, he was diagnosed with autism. Being able to work from home full time helped me negotiate flexible working arrangements that would allow me to show up in these seasons. Remote work has been good to me but if I’m being honest it hasn’t always been perfect. Sometimes remote work has felt lonely. I think I even wrote about this here when I was thinking of applying for my post grad degree. I had amazing colleagues in my previous remote role and I miss them so much. But I also really missed collaborating in person and just stepping out of my virtual environment to co-work in a shared space. Of course, I longed for all of this on my terms and it wasn’t smooth sailing for me when I had to embrace in-person work last August. Stepping back into a physical space reminded me of something. In‑office work can be overwhelming. Yeah, that hasn’t changed.

Today I woke up and didn’t feel like being here. At my desk I mean 😅 I didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to take out my laptop. I just didn’t want to do anything all thanks to exhaustion. I have had a rough week thanks to sleep deprivation. Yeah, some days are like that. And today I want to talk about those days and other ugly parts of remote work and freelancing we don’t often talk about. If you have found yourself wondering or even asking whether it’s always rainbows and sunshine in the remote work world, the answer is ‘No’. Keep reading to find out the unspoken truths a lot of us quietly carry. Sleep Deprivation & Boundary Creep I figured let me start with this one because it’s poking at me the hardest right now. Working remotely on multiple projects with multiple clients singlehandedly can take its toll on you. If you are having to juggle client work across different timezones, its only a matter of time before you start experiencing some fatigue and risking burnout. Then there is the boundary creep. Let me explain this one. You know many of us remote work professionals like to talk about how we have so much freedom. But what many of us do not like to admit is how this freedom often backfires and translates to more time spent in our corner offices pouring in more hours into our work, and less and less into the life around us. This is often true of myself especially lately as I have been working on multiple projects with multiple clients. I have found myself working from around 9am to 9pm, only breaking to go pick up my son from school and sometimes even waking up in the middle of the night to meet some deadlines. The result of such a routine is not pleasant. Less quality time spent with my child even though we are living in the same house and that can also come with its own consequences. And don’t even get me started on how sluggish and irritable I feel when I haven’t slept well. The Pressure to Always Be On My clients in the US are most active in the later parts of the day. My clients Down Under are most active when I am supposed to be lost in my dreams. And with the rest of my clients in between we are trying to find the best time that is not lunchtime or school run for them or myself. Because I work from home and need to serve and show up for all of my clients, in the best and fairest way possible, I find myself struggling to seperate work and rest. Even when I do make time to rest, I have this guilt that tends to creep in and a little voice that seems to whisper that I could be doing more with my time. I feel like the pressure I put on myself sometimes is a little too much and I know I am not the only one who has realised that they have to try a little extra hard to be intentional about giving themselves that downtime. The Feast or Famine Cycle Unless you are employed in a full time position, income in remote work and freelancing can be quite inconsistent. One month you are literally turning down work, and another you are getting anxious over an invoice you sent 5 minutes ago and are already wondering whether it got lost in the wind. Even in good months, you can find yourself getting anxiety regarding what lies ahead in the coming months because bills are consistent and don’t stop piling up. This can make it difficult to make long term financial plans because you need to create a huge buffer for those down months and plan for expenses that would need to be covered. No matter how old you are in the freelancing and remote work scene, you know this cycle can drive you mad! OK, let me speak for myself on this one. It may not be true for everyone. Personally, sometimes it just makes me want to pull my hair out and it’s honestly nobody’s fault. It comes with the journey. Isolation and Disconnection Some time last year I went through an episode of loneliness in my work. I longed for networking and human connection real badly and this was actually one of the reasons I found myself applying to get into a postgrad degree program. When you work remotely, there are hardly any water cooler chats and sometimes we take those casual check ins for granted. It’s easy to go for days without any meaningful interaction, especially if you live alone. And before you know it, your mental health is taking a hit and you are wondering why you are chronically sad. It’s the disconnection from others and unless you are intentional about building relationships and connections with others beyond your laptop, you will find yourself battling loneliness at heightened levels. Unstable Support Systems I always tell my aspiring remoties that you are not just looking for remote work. You are running a business. And unfortunately, it’s the business of you by you, for you and most of the times, with just you. You have to do everything. If something breaks, crashes, or glitches… there’s no IT guy. There’s just you, Google and ChatGPT. You are your own tech support, admin, customer service, marketing, sales, even therapist! Juggling these multiple hats can be overwhelming. I have days when I just don’t want to create content for LinkedIn, when writing a post honestly feels like a chore. But guess what? That’s all on me. I can’t make anybody else accountable for that unless I am paying them to make that happen. The Illusion of Flexibility Do you remember my article, ‘Beyond the laptop on the beach‘? When people hear remote work, they immediately think FREEDOM. Sure, I

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about How to Get Remote Work Clients in Zimbabwe. It garnered a lot of attention and if I’m being honest, it also stirred up a mix of emotions, both from others and myself. Some of it was excitement, some disbelief, some skepticism and a little bit of critique. But the reason I shared that post was really to offer ideas and insight into what has worked for me in the 10+ years I’ve been working remotely both as a full-time employee and a freelancer. What I probably didn’t share back in January was that I was actually transitioning again. I had just stepped out of a full-time remote role and was returning to full-time freelancing and running my Online Business Management (OBM) services under my own business. As far as client contracts go, I was pretty much back to starting from zero. Fast forward to the end of June, the halfway mark of the year, I found myself doing some deep reflection. In fact, I had started reflecting back in April because, as any business owner knows, you start seeing what’s working and what’s not possibly right there at the 3-4 month mark.  So, here we are. I’d like to share with you a behind-the-scenes look at how I generated income remotely in this first half of 2025, partly for transparency, but also just to show you what’s possible, diversity of income streams and also the power of community, networking and maintaining visibility.   A Little Context On My Life and Work Setup I live in Harare, Zimbabwe, and I’m a co-parent to a toddler. I work 100% from home in rented accommodation. My internet connection is from Liquid Technologies, and I use the Pay-As-You-Go fibre billing model which has been working well for me since I decided to be more intentional (read: strict) about how I use my internet in the home.   My workday typically starts at 8:30 AM after school drop-off and ends around 7 PM. In between, I take breaks for meals, errands, or the school run. Most days, I’m seated at my laptop for about 7–8 hours whether or not I have client projects I am working on. More of that last part on another day. Now, let’s dive into the remote work income sources that contributed to keeping the lights on for me.  Income Source 1: Expert AI Training (40%) What It Involved: I worked as an AI trainer and data labeller with a global organisation called Pareto. Each project had its own structure, but most involved reviewing, labelling, or generating content for AI training. Even though you are registered as an Independent Contractor with Pareto, you have to apply and qualify to join each project and most times, you start out in a trial phase. The work is paid based on approved submissions, so quality matters deeply. You can’t just submit mediocre or substandard work and hope that it will be approved.  AI Training and Data Labelling was new territory for me, but I jumped in with an open mind and learned as I went. The projects were quite challenging but I learnt a lot along the way.  How I Landed It: Sometime in February, I met with someone at the WIDB Digital Skills Training of Trainers event. Later after this event, she reached out to me having realised that I am into remote work and recommended that I follow a post that she found in a Facebook group where women from Zimbabwe were creating a community to discuss remote work opportunities. Following her encouragement, I joined a WhatsApp group for Zimbabwean women interested in remote work. About a month or so later, someone from that group shared a Pareto project opportunity. I nearly didn’t apply (imposter syndrome is the pits I tell you), but with some encouragement from the woman who posted it, I went for it and made it in. Since then, I’ve successfully joined three other Pareto projects and managed to work on them as an independent contractor. Pros: Cons: Income Source 2: Web Design (25%) What It Involved: I offered starter WordPress website design for small businesses and startups. Most sites were around five pages, designed to give businesses a professional online presence without overly complex features. I was targeting mostly businesses that were getting online for the first time and also those that had tried to DIY their websites but got overwhelmed along the way.  How I Landed It: At the start of the year, I told my network of friends and family that I was actively focused on growing my web design portfolio. I shared my offer directly in their WhatsApp DMs and they went on to share with their friends and connections. From there, the projects started coming in. Some came from people I knew directly, others from those they referred me to. It has been growing organically from simple conversations and follow-ups. Pros: Cons: Income Source 3: OBM Services (17%) What It Involved: This is actually my signature service offering. As an Online Business Manager (OBM), I help business owners run their day-to-day operations, manage their teams, and implement key projects. In the first half of the year, I led special projects for an online community, started working on a podcast launch project, and supported backend operations for a growing digital business. I use a range of project management, automation, time management, collaboration and workflow management tools to help deliver value for my clients.  How I Landed It: This work came through referrals: past clients, colleagues, and friends who know my skills and trusted me to deliver. They found out that I was offering these services through the posts I was putting up on my social media channels, mainly LinkedIn and WhatsApp.  Pros: Cons: Income Source 4: VA/Admin Services (8%) What It Involved: Not sure if you know this but let me say it again…just in case. I actually started out in remote work

We have just wrapped up the first half of 2025, and I can’t help thinking about what a rollercoaster the past six months have been. I have smiled, laughed, cried, screamed, hoped, feared, won, lost and everything in between all these emotions you could possibly think of. Dealing with a transition in my work is something I just decided I was going to hit the ground running with. There was no time for me to ease into it or take it slow. Every day since 1 January 2025, I have been working on one thing or another in efforts to step back into my OBM business which I had parked nearly four years ago. And I’m not sure how it has looked on the outside, but on the inside, it has not been easy. A lot has changed. What I thought I wanted to do, I ended up realising that I didn’t actually want to do. What I never believed I could do, I found myself doing. Challenges I never imagined I would face? I found myself in the thick of them, tackling each one like my entire life depended on it. Yet, in all the hustle and uncertainty, one thing has helped me keep my sanity, week in and week out: Community. Let me tell you about mine. First of all, I have amazing friends and family. The funny thing is, we don’t always see each other. Heck, some of them live halfway across the world! But even with the distance, we try our best to stay connected around what’s happening in our lives. The good things, the bad things, the big things, the small things, the funny things, the shocking things, the serious things. We really try. And knowing I can go to them with all of these things is one of the most humbling blessings of my life. If you ever hear me saying I’m “self-made what what”… slap me. It’s just not true. I am the product of a strong community of supporters who, I’m convinced, genuinely want to see me win. It’s not just about my family and friends, though. I work with some truly lovely people too. One community in particular has been helping me maintain my sense of direction and self, especially through this season of change. Last year in March, I joined a membership of early-stage female entrepreneurs called Flourish. I want to believe it was a “community in time” because all of the sessions and discussions I got to be part of seemed to be preparing me for exactly the season I’m in now. Back then, I had recently launched my blog and wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it. I was just writing and writing. I had also started working on my social media visibility especially around work. It was refreshing to be in a space that reminded me of the need to have clarity about the work I do, the problems I solve, and how I go about solving them. This clarity has become a part of what we now call the famous Flourish intro which all members have to do every Tuesday during our live sessions. You would be surprised how many business people struggle with doing this on the fly. Anyway, at the beginning of this year, I was invited to join the Flourish support team. It was an easy “YES!” from me. I had more time on my hands and was eager to plug in. Plus, this was a mission I genuinely believed in and one I was already deeply invested in. Fast forward to today, and I’m genuinely excited about everything I’ve been able to learn and unlearn on this journey of supporting Flourish members. Every week, we go through tutorials that are packed with useful and insightful nuggets. These continue to fill in the gaps in my own knowledge around business, systems, and building a brand that actually reflects who you are. Being part of this community has also helped me boost my confidence to stick with my ideas and give them a fair chance, something we’re constantly reminded to do in the group. At the same time, I’m learning not to become over-attached to my own ideas to the point where I hold them too close and lose clarity about what I’m actually trying to do. I wish this was easier said than done. This is the part that has been incredibly hard for me to be honest because sometimes I tend to be a victim of my sooooo many ideas and wanting to implement them all at the same time. Yes, it has happened with a couple in this first half of 2025, and Flourish came after me, reminding me about clarity yet again. And if I’m being honest, that lack of clarity and the pressure to act on too many ideas at once eventually started to catch up with me. It’s probably one of the reasons I found myself losing steam with my blog writing and podcast recordings because there is only so much a girl can do! Now, Flourish isn’t the only community I’ve chosen to engage with around my work in 2025. I’m also actively involved in communities focused on remote work, mentorship, and different training programmes. Why? Because I refuse to navigate this working and business world on my own. It can get kind of lonely. I also acknowledge that there’s still so much I don’t know. Getting an opportunity to meet new people from around the world who get to tell me about the interesting projects they are working on is something I don’t take for granted. I want to be around people who can build me up and help me grow. I also want to share in my own experiences to help other people who are getting started on this journey of pursuing remote work. It’s a huge reason why this blog was born. I believe that as far as remote